Man of the Day 10/29: Scottie Upshall

Scott Upshall

Born October 7, 1983 (age 28) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Right winger for the Florida Panthers

I’ve been curious about this guy for a while, so let’s see what he’s done. His hockey life started when he was sixteen in the AJHL with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (a rather cool name). His 52 points helped the Oil Barons to the Royal Bank Cup, and the team won the championship. From there, he went to the Kamloops Blazers, where he was named Rookie of the Year in both the WHL and CHL. In 2002 he played for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships and won a silver medal; that was also the year that he was drafted by theNashville Predators sixth overall in the first round. Even though he played a few games with the Preds that fall, he was sent back to Kamloops and won silver again in the 2003 World Juniors.

Scottie was assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals for most of the 2003-04 season, and even though he was injured for most of the season, he helped the Admirals win the 2004 Calder Cup. He spent the Year That Never Was with the Admirals, and in the 2005-06 season he spent the majority of his time with the Preds. He spent a few more months like that in the 2006-07 season until he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in February 2007.

Panthers win, plastic rats appear, Scottie plays with them.

Scottie finished out the 2006-07 season in Philly, playing 18 games and earning 6 goals and 13 games. The next year was his first full year in the NHL, and he gained 30 points in 61 games, and he even had 7 points in 17 playoff games before the Flyers were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2009, just as he was comfy with the Flyers, he was traded again – this time to the Phoenix Cardinals for Daniel Carcillo. Now in Phoenix, he scored a goal in his very first game as a Yote, and he ended up with 13 points in 19 games. For his first full year in Phoenix, he scored 18 goals toward 32 points in 49 games, but injury kept him from skating in the playoffs. Just when he was settled in with the Coyotes, those mid-season trades came again, and this time he and Sami Lepisto were sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he only had six goals in 21 games.

Then the Florida Panthers came calling, and he signed a four-year, $14 million contract with them. He joined others such as Jose Theodore, Ed Jovanovski, Chris Versteeg and Brian Campbell in striving to rebuild the team to contender status. With teammates like that, Scottie should have no problem helping the team get there.

Like cocoa and a warm blanket, this picture works wonders on a rainy, miserable day.